Do we owe Spike Lee an apology?

Great article. Read the linked story and share your thoughts.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/morris-w-okelly/we-owe-spike-lee-a-huge-a_b_2528785.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

Why is Jamie Foxx calling Spike Lee out?

Spike Lee has come out strongly against the movie Django Unchained. Jamie Foxx recently made the scathing remarks about Lee. Fox told The Guardian, “Where’s Spike Lee coming from?” “He didn’t like Whoopi Goldberg, he doesn’t like Tyler Perry, he doesn’t like anybody, I think he’s sort of run his course. I mean, I respect Spike, he’s a fantastic director. But he gets a little shady when he’s taking shots at his colleagues without looking at the work. To me, that’s irresponsible.” So what do you think is Lee expressing an honest opinion or is he just taking shots at a new generation of actors and directors?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/jan/17/jamie-foxx-django-unchained-angry

Did anybody watch Spike Lee’s Michael Jackson documentary?

Michael Jackson has been dead for over 3 years. last week ABC aired a documentary by Spike Lee on the music legend. The documentary got great reviews from the critics but the viewers ignored it. What was the problem? Michael jackson fatigue? Poor scheduling or what? Read the linked story and share your thoughts.

http://www.theroot.com/buzz/did-you-miss-spike-lees-michael-jackson-doc

Mike Tyson the “prostitute hunter” is headed to Broadway

Spike Lee what are you thinking? Lee is taking Mike Tyson to Broadway. Here is a clip from yesterday’s Today Show. Do you think Tyson is ready for an unscripted format or should Lee film this and edit it before the show is put under the hot lights of Broadway?

Actor Clifton Powell sides with Tyler Perry against Spike Lee…Can’t We All Just Get Along?

While appearing on the Russ Parr radio show Clifton Powell weighed in on the Tyler Perry/Spike Lee feud. Her’s what Powell had to say”"To be honest, I don’t like Spike Lee. Spike is worse than any one of the mans [sp]. Because back in the day…and I hope Spike is listening cause I’ll beat your punk a**. I don’t like Spike. I have never said it publicly out, but Spike is a hater…I shouldn’t have said it like this, but I’m going to tell you the truth. I’m from the streets and you got to take care of your people…Spike needs to go sit his punk a** down and stop talking about Tyler Perry. Tyler Perry was homeless about 10, 12 years ago and Spike wasn’t writing him no checks. I don’t like Spike Lee because I don’t like his politics as it pertains to how he deals with African-Americans. I auditioned for Spike several times, he kept all of us waiting for hours. It was insulting, he made people fly across country, pay for themselves and come to auditions. Spike is the worst and he needs to go sit his punk a** down!” So Powell this is a better way to deal with Lee? Threaten him? So what next? I guess someone from Lee’s camp will come to his defense. This battle could go on until Jesus comes.

Tyler Perry tells Spike Lee to “Go Straight to Hell”

Spike Lee is no fan of Tyler Perry. Lee has criticized Perry’s work and called it “coonery and buffoonery’. In 2009 Lee said that Perry’s films “harken back to Amos and Andy.” At a press conference to promote the release of Madea’s Big Happy Family, Perry said “I’m sick of hearing about damn Spike Lee.” He went on to say “Spike can go straight to hell! You can print that.” Perry has defended his work before but never with this level of venom. Perry is in a very unique situation in that he can write, direct and produce his own movies. He has his own studio and a lucrative distribution deal with Lionsgate. Perry has tapped into a lucrative audience. People love his work. While I am not a fan I do think it is disturbing that Perry and Lee are continuing to air their disagreements in such a public way. Perry is enjoying financial success that has alluded Lee. Lee has a right to his opinion, and he has the right to speak ,but he has made his feelings known at this point Lee can keep his money, and not go to Perry films, and if Meet the Browns is on his television he has the right to change the channel. That’s what I do. I have written about Perry films far too many times and the reality is Perry is going to keep doing what he is doing as he laughs all the way to the bank, and if Lee continues to criticize Perry he runs the risk of being classified as a crab in a barrel and we all know what crabs do to other crabs in the barrel.

Spike Lee is No “Hater” Watch the Clip

Spike Lee has been taking a lot of heat for remarks he made in reference to Tyler Perry. The remarks were read out of context on 60 Minutes last Sunday, but when you watch the clip you get the message. Lee was not just “hating” on Perry he was making a valid point.

Spike Lee Calls Tyler Perry Shows “Buffoonery”

Tyler Perry will be profiled this Sunday on 60 Minutes.  During the interview CBS correspondent Byron Pitts reads a quote for director Spike Lee.  Lee has dismissed Tyler Perry’s TBS sitcoms “Meet the Browns” and “House of Payne” as “coonery and buffoonery.” Perry takes offense to Lee’s assessment, but is it true? Perry claims the characters depicted in his sitcoms do exist and he has the ability to use the characters to share a bigger message. The bigger question is why do we spend so much time obssessing over Perry’s sitcoms? We do this because his shows are the only black shows on television. Sure you might find a black character here or there, but you will not find any other series. Perry’s depictions might not inspire as much ire if there were other shows showing intelligent black people living their lives without a laughtrack. Perry has tapped into something, but is this a case of people laughing at us and not laughing with us.

Spike Lee’s Passing Strange: Exploring the Passions of Youth

Spike Lee allowed us to witness Passing Strange with the same intimacy and intensity one would have in a Broadway seat and that made this uncomfortable awakening a comfortable trip for me. This coming of age film introduced us to the Youth, a young boy in search of his “real” self. His mother has dreams for him but she allows him to travel to Europe to experience “real” life. It is interesting how black men throughout history have had a romantically, exotic view of life in Europe. They seemingly imagine that only on foreign soil can they experience true freedom. They rarely yearn for Africa the Motherland, they see Europe as their own personal Utopia. His mother lets him go on this quixotic adventure because as a black mother she knows intuitively if she does not let him go he will die not physically, but a more painful death…the death of the spirit. She does not call him her “man man” or “the man of the house”, he is simply The Youth, and he is given the privilege to just be who he is. As we watched the Youth blossom into his true self I thought of so many mothers who are blinded by their own dreams for their children. They are church-going sisters who pray that their children will get a degree and a good job. If this can happen and they can keep their sons on the straight path they will feel they have been successful and that God has smiled on them, but this is their dream. I applaud the mother for subordinating her dreams for him, and letting the Youth find his own path. The adventure is not always smooth but it is his.

Spike Lee, John Singletary and now Tyler Perry…Black Men Making Movies

This weekend I went to see Tyler Perry’s latest movie. It was mildly amusing and it featured a heaping helping of buffoonery, but Perry is the man of the minute so in this season he can do no wrong. He has two highly successful series on TBS, House of Payne and Meet the Browns.  Both series feature eye-rolling, broad acting that if the series were being written and produced by white people the black community would be leading protests against both series, but we love Perry so it is ok with us. How did Perry become the man? It seems there is always just one man a time. First we had Spike Lee who gave us She’s Got to Have It, (a movie that explored a woman’s right to sexual freedom), Do the Right Thing (an exploration of racial conflicts in an urban area), School Daze ( conflict between the wannabees and the jigaboos) and Jungle Fever ( exploration of interracial love) and Malcolm X (which earned Lee and Academy Award nomination) . All of these movies explored social issues that affected our community.  Next we met John Singletary who gave us Boys in the Hood (which explored the plight of black young men growing up in the hood and the critical choices they make that ultimately effect their lives), Higher Learning (college life on a conflicted campus) and Baby Boy (this is the story of an unemployed young black man, who’s been living with his mother for several years, even though he’s got a child of his own, and how he becomes a real man.) All of these movies explore some level of social consciousness in the community, but none of these movies can be classified as a box office seller. For the past two weeks Madea’s Goes to Jail has been the Number 1 movie. Why has America fallen in love with the movie? Some say it is because America needs a reason to laugh, but when I look at a Tyler Perry movie I feel like Dave Chappelle, I wonder are they laughing with me or are they laughing at me. Well, Perry is the Black man for this generation and we can only hope that what we have seen is not yet the best of what we will see from Tyler Perry.